Repository logo

Browsing by Author "Pabijan, Joanna"

  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Multimodal approach for ionizing radiation damage investigation
    (Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences, 2015) Kwiatek, Wojciech M.; Adamczyk, Jolanta; Bobrowska, Justyna; Borkowska, Anna; Lekka, Małgorzata; Lekki, Janusz; Lipiec, Ewelina; Miszczyk, Justyna; Pabijan, Joanna; Paluszkiewicz, Czesława; Panek, Agnieszka; Piergies, Natalia; Pogoda, Katarzyna; Prauzner-Bechcicki, Szymon; Quaroni, Luca; Roman, Maciej; Wiecheć, Anna; Wiltowska-Zuber, Joanna
    The new, leading edge laboratory has been established and put into routine operation. The laboratory is focused on multimodal studies of the cellular response to ionizing radiation and provides support and research facilities for the Bronowice Cyclotron Centre. Spectroscopic imaging of cells and tissues (examining in particular the internal structure of cells, the cytoskeleton organization, cells’ mechanical and biochemical properties), as well as research at the molecular level, has been applied in research for the purpose of searching new strategies of prevention and therapies of cancer and other pathologies and in fundamental research in the field of structural and vibrational analysis of condensed matter. The multimodal approach, illustrating the full laboratory potential, has been applied to radiation effect studies of transitional cells – human bladder carcinoma cells (T24 cell line). Cells were irradiated with three X-ray radiation doses: 1 Gy, 3 Gy, and 10 Gy and subsequently studied using all instruments of the new laboratory. The presented results demonstrated that the AFM elasticity measurements can be applied to quantitatively estimate alterations induced upon Xray irradiation at the single cell level. A combination of AFM and InfraRed Spectroscopy (NanoIR2 setup) was successful in characterization molecular changes occurring in the nuclear environment following cellular irradiation. Particularly useful information acquired was the observation of changes in distribution of macromolecules with a spatial resolution at the level of the single organelle. The observed changes correlate with radiation dose and thus may become a tool for studying the biological effects of radiation exposure. The application of Raman microspectroscopy for radiation-induced damage investigations provided detection of such spectral changes as strand breaks, base unstacking, and DNA conformational transformations. These studies give crucial information about the damage associated with irradiation and cellular response for radiation dose at single cell level. Moreover, Raman spectroscopy provides possibility to investigate structural changes present within the same sample. Complementary UV–VIS technique, on the basis of γ-H2AX test, delivered quantitative data of radiation damage, manifesting in presence of double strand breaks in DNA in 1st and 2nd day of culture (1 hour and 24 hours after irradiation).
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Structural and mechanical characterization of collagen-hyaluronan hydrogels used to study cancer cell invasion through the bladder wall
    (Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences, 2025-03-06) Lekka, Małgorzata ; Metwally, Sara ; Śmiałek-Bartyzel, Justyna ; Pabijan, Joanna
    Collagen-hyaluronic acid (Col-HA) hydrogels are widely studied as biomimetic materials that recapitulate the environmental physical and mechanical properties crucial for understanding the cell behaviour during cancer invasion and progression. Our research focused on Col-HA hydrogels as an environment to study the invasion of bladder cancer cells through the bladder wall. The bladder is a heterogeneous structure composed of three main layers: urothelium (the softest), lamina propria (the stiffest), and the muscle outer layer, with elastic properties lying between the two. Thus, the bladder cancer cells migrate through the mechanically distinct environments. We investigated the impact of Col-HA hydrogel microstructure and rheology on migrating bladder cancer T24 cells from the cancer spheroid surface to the surrounding environment formed from various collagen I and HA concentrations and chemical structures. The designed hydrogels showed variability in pore size, network density, and rheological properties. The migration of bladder cancer cells was inhibited inside hydrogels of ~1kPa Pa storage modulus. The correlation analysis showed that collagen concentration primarily defined the rheological properties of Col-HA hydrogels, but hydrogels can soften or stiffen depending on the type of HA used. Within soft Col-HA hydrogels, cells freely invade the surrounding environment, while its stiffening impedes cell movement and almost inhibits cell migration. Only individual, probably leading, cells are observed at the spheroid edges initiating the invasion. Our findings showed that the rheological properties of the hydrogels dominate in regulating cancer cell migration, providing a platform to study how bladder cancer cells migrate through the heterogenous structure of the bladder wall.